Mysterious shortness of breath: What has helped you?

Hi Gabe and folks,
I’m a 21 yr old male, I’m vegan and usually healthy. I’ve experienced these same issues for almost a year now.
Here’s what I’ve came across.
-No certain food allergy cause
-Chest X-ray was clear
-I’ve had history of GERD more specifically bile gastritis
-acid pills haven’t helped to this point
-inhaler hasn’t helped
-Benadryl hasn’t helped
-Recent CT scan on the neck came back that I had lingual tonsillar hypotrophy
^ This is interesting to read about and will be something I will be talking to a Dr about soon. I wanted to know if anyone else has done a CT scan on the neck.

I am going to look further into all of this. Are any of you that have posted "open mouth" breathers/sleepers, snorers, etc. I came across an article that spoke a bit about irregular breathing that can be brought about by "mouth breathin" as well as some dental consequences. I just find it odd that all of this started up suddenly. I've mentioned before that I noticed my SOB shortly after having mild Covid in January, but also some other stressful personal events. I am starting to get a bit frustrated with all the tests of medications. I am going to have to ask my doctor for more specific help. I want answers as we all do. I think I will proceed with a sleep study.

Hi @kc05, I haven't had a CT scan on the neck. I haven't heard of that condition, so I will have to look that up! Have you had your breathing symptoms daily, or does it come and go? Do you plan on getting any other tests done?

Early on when this started for me, I was more of open mouth breather and I think I did snore a lot. The first time I started the breathing exercise regimen, part of what I learned was to change the open mouth breathing to just breathing through the nose, even during exercise. So for the first three days, I only did nasal breathing unless I absolutely had to breathe through my mouth such as when talking. But even then, each inhale during talking is through the nose. I even taped my mouth shut at night, every night for a good few weeks. But the first three days or so in doing this, that's when my symptoms greatly diminished. So to this day, I nasal breathe and I think this helps to keep the symptoms at bay.

I think that's a good idea to ask for more specific help from your doctors. Physicians are mostly general physicians who have knowledge in various areas, so it's kind of a "helping them to help me" type situation.

I hear you about getting frustrated with all the tests and medications. I felt the same, though over time when I accepted that I would be dealing with this for a long time, that it made me feel better and turned the search for answers into more of a journey than trying to rush to find an answer.

I think a sleep study will be worth it. It may discover something, who knows. But I wonder if your Covid symptoms sort of transitioned to a "long covid" that I've heard about and briefly read upon. So I think there is some hope of the possibility of the symptoms diminishing over time, but just more slowly than others.

Update : today my sob after 2 weeks is come back
Now 100 % im beleive anxiety cause my air hunger ,
In 2 last week im understand when im talking with people my symptoms are more active
I hoped i can cured it completely
And Suddenly today its come back same of first day
For now im in buteyko training and maybe xanax again

Hey Gabe, thanks for the response.

First I want to make clear I’m not a doctor. I do plan to test some more, not sure what route yet. To answer your questions I’ve had these same symptoms described for about 8 months, everyday, some are worse than others.

If you don’t mind me asking a couple questions that other people could join in on as well. We have to find things or more symptoms we all have in common.
-Are your neck tendons/muscles super tight?
-Does it bother you to touch any part around your throat?
-Do your symptoms get worse with anxiety?
-Do you notice your symptoms subside when your mind is elsewhere?

Hi Dovey,

I read all your posts. Thanks for sharing! . We have a similar but also different issue going on here. I have done a ton of research as well and I have pages full of Google Docs. I have seen doctors both at the University of Utah where I live and more recently, the Mayo Clinic in Arizona. I am going to the National Jewish in Colorado and continuing to do whatever I can until this mystery is solved.

Would you be open to speaking one on one? I am looking to talk to people one on one and brainstorm things. I feel like this is more effective than writing on this thread (even though this thread is very helpful).

I will DM you and we can go from there. But Basically I have the same thing.. Mine goes as follows: (I am copy/pasting this from my google doc)

What does it feel like?

Every few minutes, or every few seconds (especially during an “episode”), I start getting this sensation that I am not getting enough air in. I don’t know how to describe it, except that it is a sensation that tells me I need to yawn, or take a deep breath. Then, I try to take a deep breath, a really deep breath where I can feel my stomach and to a smaller extent, my chest rise and then fall. (I am a diaphragmatic breather). Then there is a millisecond between the inhale and exhale where I can feel as if the air went all the way down into my belly. And then I let out a strong exhale, which can sound like a sigh. This satisfies my breath for the time being and then the cycle repeats, minutes later, sometimes seconds later. Sometimes not until hours later. This can be accompanied by tightness in the throat, which massaging it can help a little.

However, The scariest thing is when I am having an “episode”, and I try to take a deep breath, it doesn’t always satisfy the feeling or help relieve the tension. Then I will try again and it still won’t satisfy. This is where I need to keep calm and breathe in my nose and out my throat. Eventually I will get a breath in and I will shudder or feel a huge relief but also it scares me. In this case, I usually try to lay down with two pillows and try to distract myself with something else or meditate and calm down. I can’t always calm down (so I wonder if it is anxiety related).

And in rare instances, the sensation goes away but then I start feeling like I am no longer breathing. And I know this because I am still not satisfying a deep breath, but the urge to take a deep breath or yawn goes away. This is also where I have felt like passing out in the past, but this is very rare. I try to then force a yawn or deep breath but it doesn’t help. I try to lay down and breathe calmly and this kind of helps. Eventually it just resolves.

This sensation can also happen as I am falling asleep and I will get scared, but I have monitored my O2 through the night before, and it stays above 90 almost the whole time. So I need to remind myself it won’t kill me.

During the poor air quality winter days of 2022, I had this above sensation a lot and I couldn’t satisfy. I would keep trying and I can feel how the abnormal breathing took a toll on my muscles, even in my back, the muscles would ache because I was doing this constantly. I couldn’t make it stop

Basically it all started in 2013, got better from 2014-2021 and came back with a vengeance in Nov 2021. in 2013, it started after I cut pressure-treated lumber (I was warned never to because it has chemicals in it that can ruin your lungs).

I want to add that I recently have been diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome (on 2/14/22). Also, recently I have been having this painful abdominal spasms, usually after I get a deep breath in and then exhale.

@kc05, in general I've had tight neck muscles. Probably just due to years of straining in front of a computer all day for work and just the stresses of life, but it doesn't really restrict any movement. The symptoms are the same whether or not I have anxiety. I don't get anxiety very much anyway, but if I'm a little anxious about something, it doesn't seem to affect the breathing at least that I've noticed.

It's interesting about the symptoms subsiding when distracted or concentrating. I have hobbies where I'm deeply concentrated and don't notice the symptoms a whole lot when I'm doing them. So either due to being distracted enough to not notice them, or that the mind perceives them less when it's focused on something. So that's definitely interesting, but a few years when the symptoms were worse, sometimes trying to distract myself didn't work.

Let me know what tests you plan on doing. Who knows if they will uncover anything, but at least it gives you a good overall idea of your health in general.

I am wondering if you have SILENT REFLUX……Xanax is helpful and can diminish the feeling of shortness of breath, but at the same time - it can depress breathing. One way to test if you have silent reflux, is to take a PPI (Proton Pump Inhibitor) 30-40 minutes before eating a meal - and then see if your sob improves. Sometimes it takes doing this a couple of times. Talk to your doctor about this. This happens to me sometimes…….my neck can actually start to feel tight after a meal - not every time - which tells me that stomach acid has made it’s way to my esophagus and lungs…….which can cause shortness of breath - and over time lead to asthma.

Hi kelly
I have acid reflux
And i using ppi and other medicine for so i think its not relation between them
Recentlly i find out when im in public or talking whit other my symptoms get worse
Some people beleive this is OCD , like when someone wash his hands regularly
But i know for me whatever it is related to anxiey even when i dont feel anxious
I hate to be anyone who have to use medicine for rest of my life
My jaw and throat are hurt because of fighting whit it